The present invention relates to three-dimensional printing or additive manufacturing and, more specifically, to a method and system of proactive heating-based crack prevention in three-dimensional (3D) printing or additive manufacturing.
Three-dimensional printing involves successive layers of material being laid down onto a substrate or each other from a dispensing head that is controlled by a computer. Three-dimensional printed objects can be of almost any shape or geometry and are derived from a three-dimensional model or other electronic data source that is loaded into the controlling computer. The dispensing head is a component of a three-dimensional printer, which itself is a type of industrial robot.
In the case of large three-dimensional printed objects, completion of the laying down of each successive layer requires a relatively long period of time as the dispensing head traverses the length of the layer. This leads to the generation of a time gap between the laying down of the starting point of a layer to an end point of the laying down of the layer. Thus, by the time the dispensing head reaches the end point, the material dispensed at the start point may harden and may lead to a fine gap between the starting and end point of the layer.